The project that gave birth to the Cremedoce de Fronteira workshop began in 2017. The idea was to create a social enterprise with a triple value: to enable young Mozambicans to learn a new trade, to provide a nutritious product to the children of Ressano Garcia, a town on the border with South Africa, at a social price, and, given its high profitability, to create a fund for university scholarships for young people who wish to study. The project officially came to life in 2018, when the head of the Scalabrinian Sisters’ Center in Ressano Garcia, Sister Carla, together with Damiao, an employee of the Center, and José Maria, one of the young beneficiaries, came to Italy, thanks to the project partners, to learn how to make ice cream and how the machines worked.

In 2019, with the opening of the laboratory and shop in Ressano Garcia, they were joined by Carlitos, Castigo, Chadrek, José, and Dalva, who trained with Gino Fabbri, a world-renowned pastry chef, and a trainer from Fabbri1905. Throughout their first year of activity, they gained experience, producing ice cream, ice lollies, and sorbets, and the year ended with their participation in the Italian products fair in Maputo.

Chadrek tells us about those months: “The training process was not difficult because the teacher was patient and recognized our commitment. The thing that surprised me most was the ice cream: it was very different from what I knew! Working in Ressano Garcia’s ice cream shop was a great experience, even though the environment was challenging. People liked the product! My life changed after I started working on this project. I am originally from Beira, where I studied until sixth grade, then I dropped out. But while working in the ice cream shop, I resumed my studies until twelfth grade, and I finished them. Now I continue to learn other things. I feel like I have grown as a person thanks to this project. I learned much more than I expected, and I never imagined I would get to where I am today. My family, my community, and my former employer reacted positively when they heard about the project. They were surprised and grateful.”

Unfortunately, what was supposed to be the year of the big leap turned out to be a setback: with COVID, everything came to a halt, and the momentum that had been building in the previous months was lost. After various attempts to restart, we realized that we needed someone competent and passionate who could take over the project, give it that extra boost, and finally, in 2023, we met Alberto, an Italian gelato maker who was working in cooperation but was ready to leave everything behind to devote himself to his passion: gelato!

In October, he opened Gelarte right in the center of Maputo, at FEIMA, and his ice cream is the most popular among both Mozambicans and foreigners! “I worked in international cooperation and have been in Mozambique for about a year and a half. I was tired of cooperation, and then someone told me about the Scalabrinian Sisters’ project in Ressano Garcia, which I didn’t know about at first. I looked for information online and discovered the project… I thought, ‘There’s no way this will work!”

Alberto took two gelato-making courses in Italy, one basic and one advanced, and he has always enjoyed creating flavors, from the most classic to the most exotic and experimental, such as wasabi gelato for Japanese dinners. Making gelato requires a precise formula, knowledge of the ingredients, and a lot of precision: it is not easy at all.

“Chadrek has been a great asset: he already knew the machines and taught me a lot. He doesn’t create the ice cream formula because it’s more complex, but he knows the practical production process very well. Today, only Chadrek works with me, but it has been rewarding to maintain the social spirit of the project. We have welcomed schools, shown them how to make ice cream and pizza, and we also have an educational vegetable garden. I would like to collaborate even more with AGAPE and other organizations, and I want to maintain this social aspect in the ice cream shop.”

FEIMA is the perfect place to continue production and sales, but also to expand activities: “The space is beautiful, green, well located, easy to reach, and has the right characteristics for such a business. The ice cream shop also offers space for birthday parties, events, and wholesale sales to restaurants and companies. I would also like to offer theater or music courses, but a well-structured economic plan is necessary.”

Therefore, we can declare that the Cremedoce de Fronteira project has ended, but that a new and lasting collaboration has begun with Gelarte to achieve other, more ambitious goals for Mozambican children and young people.

“This project has had a great influence on my dreams and goals. I still have the dream of going to university and studying mechanical engineering. My advice to other young people who have the opportunity to participate in projects like this is: seize the opportunity! Learn as much as you can. Be focused, disciplined, and listen to the teacher. The project has brought many benefits to the young people of Ressano Garcia. I hope that initiatives like this will continue, because they make a big difference. I would like to thank all the people who created, supported, and invested in this project. Keep up the extraordinary work.” Chadrek